Table of Contents

Hair Assays for Drugs of Abuse in a Probation Population: Pilot Study in a Florida Correctional Field Setting, 1993 (ICPSR 6527)

Principal Investigator(s):
Mieczkowski, Tom, University of South Florida and Operation PAR, Inc.;
Newel, Richard A., University of South Florida and Operation PAR, Inc.;
Allison, Gale, University of South Florida and Operation PAR, Inc.;
Coletti, Shirley, University of South Florida and Operation PAR, Inc.

Summary:

The major objectives of this research project were: (1) to
evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of hair and urine assays
in determining drug use among probationers, (2) to examine the
concordance patterns of hair and urine specimens, (3) to explore the
perceptions and attitudes of probation officers regarding the use of hair
assays for drug testing, and (4) to assess the feasibility of
implementing hair analysis in a probationary field setting. The 22
correctional officers who participated in this study were recruited
from the Florida Department of Corrections Probation Field Services
Divisions, and worked within Pinellas and Pasco counties. Each
officer was requested to solicit from his or her caseload eight to ten
probationers who would be eligible for the project because they would
be undergoing at least monthly urinalysis or urine testing.
Approximately 150 probationers participated in the project and were
subject to hair assays for illicit drug use, along with standard urine
testing. Specimens were collected and analyzed on 90
probationers over a six-month period and on 101 probationers for five
consecutive months, as well as fewer numbers of samples for the other
probationers. The drugs for which the hair and urine specimens were
analyzed included cocaine, opiates, cannabinoids such as marijuana,
PCP, and methadone. Survey questions asked of the probation officers
(Part 1) covered personal information (gender, ethnicity, education
level, years of experience in corrections, and satisfaction with job)
and attitudes and opinions about their jobs and drug testing
(estimated percentage of caseload using drugs, whether all clients
should be tested, and whether knowing drug quantities is helpful).
Data in Part 2 cover probationers' drug test results and self-reported
drug use, personal information (gender, age,
weight, ethnicity, and criminal charge), a variety of hair questions
(color, texture, style, length, how often shampooed, and if dyed,
tinted, bleached, relaxed, or jeried), and use of medications, along
with the medication name and amount.

The major objectives of this research project were: (1) to
evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of hair and urine assays
in determining drug use among probationers, (2) to examine the
concordance patterns of hair and urine specimens, (3) to explore the
perceptions and attitudes of probation officers regarding the use of hair
assays for drug testing, and (4) to assess the feasibility of
implementing hair analysis in a probationary field setting. The 22
correctional officers who participated in this study were recruited
from the Florida Department of Corrections Probation Field Services
Divisions, and worked within Pinellas and Pasco counties. Each
officer was requested to solicit from his or her caseload eight to ten
probationers who would be eligible for the project because they would
be undergoing at least monthly urinalysis or urine testing.
Approximately 150 probationers participated in the project and were
subject to hair assays for illicit drug use, along with standard urine
testing. Specimens were collected and analyzed on 90
probationers over a six-month period and on 101 probationers for five
consecutive months, as well as fewer numbers of samples for the other
probationers. The drugs for which the hair and urine specimens were
analyzed included cocaine, opiates, cannabinoids such as marijuana,
PCP, and methadone. Survey questions asked of the probation officers
(Part 1) covered personal information (gender, ethnicity, education
level, years of experience in corrections, and satisfaction with job)
and attitudes and opinions about their jobs and drug testing
(estimated percentage of caseload using drugs, whether all clients
should be tested, and whether knowing drug quantities is helpful).
Data in Part 2 cover probationers' drug test results and self-reported
drug use, personal information (gender, age,
weight, ethnicity, and criminal charge), a variety of hair questions
(color, texture, style, length, how often shampooed, and if dyed,
tinted, bleached, relaxed, or jeried), and use of medications, along
with the medication name and amount.

Access Notes

The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public.
Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

Universe:
Volunteer Florida Department of Corrections probationers of
Pinellas and Pasco counties between April 1993 and September 1993.

Data Type(s):
survey data, and clinical data

Data Collection Notes:

The data collection instruments are provided in one
Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was
developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using the
Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the
Acrobat Reader is provided in the README file on the diskette version
of this study and through the ICPSR Website on the Internet. The data
collection instruments are also available in hardcopy form upon
request from ICPSR.

Methodology

Study Purpose:
This project involved the recruitment and
retention of approximately 150 probationers in Pinellas and Pasco
counties, Florida, who were subject to hair assays and urine testing
for illicit drug use over a period of time ranging from one to six
months. The major objectives of this research project were: (1) to
evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of hair and urine assays
in determining drug use among probationers, (2) to examine the
concordance patterns of hair and urine specimens, (3) to explore the
perceptions and attitudes of probation officers regarding the use of
hair assays for drug testing, and (4) to assess the feasibility of
implementing hair analysis in a probationary field setting. The major
distinction of this project is its focus on the evaluation of the
difficulties and experiences associated with implementing a hair
testing regimen in a correctional agency. The project did not
institute a complete hair testing program. The project, however,
sought to simulate major features of such an implementation. In that
regard, the research project put emphasis on "normal work"
integration and "real world" applicability. In this sense, the
project sought to insert a simple hair specimen collection protocol in
the normal working relationship between selected probation officers
and their probationer caseload.

Study Design:
The 22 correctional officers who participated in
this study were recruited from the Florida Department of Corrections
Probation Field Services Divisions, and worked within Pinellas and
Pasco counties. Each officer was requested to approach and solicit
from his or her caseload eight to ten probationers who would be
eligible for the project because they would be undergoing at least
monthly urine testing. The participation of all parties was voluntary,
and the data were not used for any decisions regarding case
disposition or treatment. Each probationer was required to sign an
informed consent form. Probation officers were trained to collect hair
specimens and to incorporate the hair collection procedure into their
normal routine with their probationers. The project intended to
recruit between 150-200 volunteer probationers with the supposition
that approximately 100 would persist in participation for the entire
six months of the project. Specimens were collected and analyzed on 90
probationers over a six-month period and on 101 probationers for five
consecutive months, as well as fewer numbers of samples for the other
probationers. The drugs for which the hair and urine specimens were
analyzed included cocaine, opiates, cannabinoids, PCP, and methadone.
The urine samples were analyzed by EMIT using National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA)-recommended cutoff values. The hair samples were
taken simultaneously with the urine specimens and were analyzed by the
Psychemedics Corporation of Culver City, California. The cutoff values
were the lowest recommended by the testing laboratory as detectable (2
ng/10 mg for cocaine and opiates, .05 ng/10 mg for cannabinoids). Since
the values for the hair assays are reported in actual concentrations,
manipulation of the cutoff values is readily done.

Sample:
The 22 correctional officers who participated in this
study were recruited from the Florida Department of Corrections
Probation Field Services Divisions, and worked within Pinellas and
Pasco counties. Each officer was requested to approach and solicit
from his or her caseload eight to ten probationers who would be
eligible for the project because they would be undergoing at least
monthly urine testing.

Data Source:

self-enumerated forms and hair and urine specimens

Description of Variables:
Survey questions asked of the probation officers
(Part 1) covered personal information (gender, ethnicity, education
level, years of experience in corrections, and satisfaction with job)
and attitudes and opinions about their jobs and drug testing
(estimated percentage of caseload using drugs, whether all clients
should be tested, and whether knowing drug quantities is helpful).
Data in Part 2 cover probationers' drug test results and self-reported
drug use, personal information (gender, age, weight, ethnicity, and
criminal charge), a variety of hair questions (color, texture, style,
length, how often shampooed, and if dyed, tinted, bleached, relaxed,
or jeried), and use of medications, along with the medication name and
amount.

Response Rates:
The project initially was able to recruit
approximately 150 volunteer probationers. There were 91 probationers
who persisted for the entire six-month collection period of the
project, although complete specimens were collected for 90 cases.
Because the program was voluntary, and because attrition would occur
in the sample group due to a variety of reasons, an approximate loss
of 50 percent was anticipated. Cases were lost over the course of the
project at a low but persistent rate, and the losses were not
typically related to the research project itself, but to other
situations of the individual probationers. Thus the 59.2 percent
survival rate of volunteer probationers was within the initial
objective of retaining 50 percent for the complete life of the
project.

Presence of Common Scales:
None.

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

Version(s)

Original ICPSR Release: 1997-06-10

Version History:

2006-03-30 File QU6527.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2006-03-30 File CB6527.ALL was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2006-03-30 File QU6527.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2006-03-30 File CB6527.ALL was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2006-03-30 File QU6527.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2006-03-30 File CB6527.ALL was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2006-03-30 File QU6527.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2006-03-30 File CB6527.ALL was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2006-03-30 File QU6527.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2006-03-30 File CB6527.ALL was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one
or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well
as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable,
and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to
reflect these additions.

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